I think the trick is to NEVER quit training. You should make a conscience effort to continuously teach your horse new things or get them handier or better at something. There is no such thing as too broke, and a horse can learn something new with every ride. That'll beat the boredom.

"If your horse doesn't respect you then forget about your horse liking you. Further, if your horse doesn't respect you then all you are is a nutrition source . . . just like the grass on the ground." ....Buck Brannaman

Yep. There's always something new. It can be something new because it's a new horse, it can be something new because you're always training and looking for that next level, it can be something new because you've fallen into a rut and you and the horse are bored and he's developing behavior problems because of that and you need to learn how to handle that too.

Are there times when it's work? Yes. I've been having to get up super early to go ride my boy 5x per week because we've had a couple of massively evil heat waves, and if I wait too long, it's just too hot and humid to ride him without having to worry about both of us getting heat sick. And there have been PLENTY of mornings when I've had that alarm go off and thought "UGH! I want to SLEEP some more!" but, of course, because it's for *him* I don't give in...

...and I find that even if I start the drive to the barn thinking "urgh" by the time I'm halfway there I'm seeing his face in my mind, and by the time I pull into the driveway, I can't wait to park the car and get out and see him. And I usually do that even before I change into riding boots. In fact, there have been PLENTY of times when I've been embroiled in some Love Fest with him over the stall wall or gate and had to force myself to leave and go put those boots on because otherwise it will start getting too hot to ride...

So it might get "old" but it doesn't stay that way for very long at all. :)

It never gets old if you are a true horse lover. I have dreamed of having a horse since I was a little girl and have actually had horses for 18 years. I am still so utterly happy riding it's crazy! Everything with me is "horses" and I just never get tired of them. My friends and family are saints for listening to me talk horses all the time.

I have a friend who is past 70 and still riding and enjoying horses. So no, if you are born with the addiction you never get tired of it. I just feel so happy on a horse! And if I can't ride for some reason, I'm playing with my tack or looking at tack catalogs or talking with you guys on the forum.

I'm glad I ran into this thread, I was starting to feel weird about my 'addiction'. My trainer thinks I'm crazy because I just want to be out at the barn 24/7. Example: today is supposed to be 97° instead of 105° and I'm heading out to get a little 'horse time' in.

Quote:

My friends and family are saints for listening to me talk horses all the time.

This. I'm always talking about the horses at the barn or what I learned, what we accomplished, etc.

I'm 27 and when I'm around horses (or horse related stuff) I feel 12, just the pure joy that they bring to my life. They wipe away all the stress of work, money, relationships, etc. It's just me and them, I love it.

I think my trainer would consider me crazy if I wanted to *work* my horse in the middle of the afternoon when it's 97 (that is EXTREMELY hot for New England and the horses here aren't really acclimated to it...and neither are the riders ) but thinking I'm crazy for wanting the horse time?

Can't imagine it.

In fact, I had a 45 minute hard-work private lesson yesterday morning, hand grazed my boy for 10 minutes after, went home...and returned a few hours later for the surprise birthday party the Barn Girls put together for her, and she (not knowing about the party yet) didn't even flick an eyelash when I told her a whopper about wanting to check Huey's fly spray and take him out for more hand grazing (she's also the BO and he's on full board).

Riding never gets old. Neither does having a cup of coffee in the morning and watching my herd grazing in the north pasture. I still love to go buy and unload and stack hay. The ONLY thing that gets old is not having enough time to spend with my ponies. **sigh**

hahaha when Betina offered to let me ride Honey Girl i was like ecstatic...the other volunteers were looking at me like "are you insane?! that horse attacks people. nobody but horse handlers are allowed to go in because she bites! why would you want to ride?!"

then they shook their heads at me cuz i was bouncing around glad i got to ride and they walked away muttering

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